The Investigation of an Honor Code Concern

Once the Judicial Officer receives your letter of concern (see Instructors Reporting an Honor Code Concern), which will be the formal concern, the Judicial Officer will contact the student to schedule a preliminary meeting. At this meeting, the student will hear the concern and will be shown whatever documentation the Judicial Officer has. He/she will also:

1. Meet with the Judicial Advisor to be informed of his/her rights and responsibilities,
2. Meet with the Judicial Officer for the interview, and
3. Be asked to submit a written statement about the incident.

This may conclude the investigation since students often acknowledge that your concern is an accurate representation. The Judicial Officer will then file a formal charge, which moves the case to a Judicial Panel hearing.

In a case where the student denies the allegation, his/her statement serves as an explanation of how he/she did the assignment in question. The Judicial Officer will then give his/her statement to you for your expert opinion about the plausibility of the explanation. If the student denies the allegation and you and the Judicial Officer believe that the Honor Code violation occurred, he/she must decide whether a Judicial Panel would likely agree with the assessment (the burden of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt"). If he/she believes that a panel would likely agree, the Judicial Officer will charge the student, moving the case to a hearing. Of course, the Judicial Officer will be in discussion with you as he/she makes these decisions. Please remember that the Charter requires cases to be charged within 6 months of the date of the incident (or from the date that the incident could reasonably have been discovered), not from the date you formally submit the concern. Please note that if he/she does not charge a student, and you disagree with his/her decision, you have the right to request that a Judicial Panel Hearing be convened in order to hear the evidence (see information about this type of hearing).

The Judicial Officer will keep you apprised of the status of his/her investigation; however, do not hesitate to contact him/her if you have any questions about the case or about the process in general. The Judicial Officer can be reached at (650) 723-9610 .